Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
04-04-2012, 02:15 PM   #136
Veteran Member
Cambo's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Vancouver, BC
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 1,016
Low margins RE: Street price

QuoteOriginally posted by Anvh Quote
Low margins???
retailers still buy the lenses at the same price as last month but the retailers sell it at higher price so margins went up for them.
the retailers will have to sell very low, even though I'm sure the wholesale price is going up with their suggested retail price.

Cheers,
Cameron

04-04-2012, 02:27 PM   #137
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
monochrome's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Working From Home
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 26,276
QuoteOriginally posted by Cambo Quote
the retailers will have to sell very low, even though I'm sure the wholesale price is going up with their suggested retail price.

Cheers,
Cameron
What do you mean very low and how are you sure Pentax has raised thier wholesale prices?
04-04-2012, 02:35 PM   #138
Veteran Member
joe.penn's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Maryland (Right Outside Washington DC)
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 2,902
QuoteOriginally posted by kenafein Quote
Sigma or Tamron are my choices for a sports zoom too, and the DA12-24 price wasn't affected. Those are the only needs I think I have right now, so I'm not really affected either. I'll look forward to seeing some shots from that siggy when you get a chance.
Hopefully I can pop off a few over the weekend and post some next week - looking forward to shooting with it...
04-04-2012, 04:43 PM   #139
Senior Member




Join Date: May 2009
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 132
Contrary to suggestions in the article here, these price increases do seem to have applied to the UK. I've been thinking of getting some sort of lighter travel kit together (either another two DA Limiteds to go with my DA35, or a 17-70 to go with my Sigma 10-20) and just looked at the prices on SRS today. Some examples:

DA17-70: £369.99 -> £509.00
DA15: £420ish -> £569.00
DA70: £369ish -> £509.00 (ironically, now more expensive than old stock of the silver 'special edition' DA70s)

These are all from SRS, our main Pentax dealer. They may be unrelated to the US price hikes (the DA15 one in particular happened a couple of weeks ago), but the basic motivation seems the same. I love my K20D to death, and would never sell my Pentax kit, but these new lens prices are beyond unreasonable. I'll stick with what I have - Pentax can have none of my money this year.

04-04-2012, 06:39 PM   #140
Veteran Member




Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Hampshire UK
Posts: 306
QuoteOriginally posted by joe.penn Quote
Would anyone on this thread pay $1,400 +/- a little for a DA*16-50 2.8 (a lens that is not even a FF lens)? The 50~135 isn't even worth that much - it may appear to be worth that much by spec but by all means with the painfully slow and sometimes erratic SDM, these lenses are barely worth half that considering the $400 17~50 Tamron performs just as good if not better in some cases than the *16~50. My thinking is they are somewhat dropping out of the western market and going to focus more on the eastern market where they have a little more market share...
Possibly import it then? You can get the 16-50 from the UK for £608 + postage + any import/sales tax (see Camera Pricebuster ) and of course sorting out any warranty claims might be a problem.

£608 x 1.59 exchange rate = $967 - but you'd have to check any 'import extras' I mentioned.

This is really really strange though, I have never known UK prices for anything to be lower than US prices, and I go back to the days of the Pentax ME, when I used to import lenses from the US. This is just weird.

Last edited by Dave L; 04-04-2012 at 06:51 PM.
04-04-2012, 07:23 PM - 1 Like   #141
Veteran Member
bossa's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 4,546
Australian Prices.

Here's a link to a local camera store here in OZ. The prices seen here have been this way for at least a year or two:

Digital Camera Lenses - Ted's Cameras

Keep in mind that these prices also contain 10% goods and services tax.

I paid $1500 for my 31 and $1500 for my 50-135 and the store only made $50 on each sale.

The alternative was to import at a grand but pay 10% GST (goods and services tax ) plus 4% import tarrif plus about $100 to ship depeding upon the service. In the end I may have paid 300 more for each than needed but the 50-135 has already been repaired locally under warranty without the expensive need to ship back to the US.

It's not just the price of the lens you pay for but any future repairs under the warranty PLUS shipping. One of my K-5 has had to be repaired too with the focus lever on the back needing to be replaced.

AU$ is only US$ 1.027 right now but was US$1.10 not so long ago. So do some math and convert those prices to US$ and it looks even worse. I think that the US has had it too good for too long really and reality has finally set in.

Last edited by bossa; 04-04-2012 at 07:29 PM.
04-04-2012, 07:42 PM   #142
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
monochrome's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Working From Home
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 26,276
Too Good for Too Long

QuoteOriginally posted by bossa Quote
Here's a link to a local camera store here in OZ. The prices seen here have been this way for at least a year or two:

Digital Camera Lenses - Ted's Cameras

Keep in mind that these prices also contain 10% goods and services tax.

I paid $1500 for my 31 and $1500 for my 50-135 and the store only made $50 on each sale.

The alternative was to import at a grand but pay 10% GST (goods and services tax ) plus 4% import tarrif plus about $100 to ship depeding upon the service. In the end I may have paid 300 more for each than needed but the 50-135 has already been repaired locally under warranty without the expensive need to ship back to the US.

It's not just the price of the lens you pay for but any future repairs under the warranty PLUS shipping. One of my K-5 has had to be repaired too with the focus lever on the back needing to be replaced.

AU$ is only US$ 1.027 right now but was US$1.10 not so long ago. So do some math and convert those prices to US$ and it looks even worse. I think that the US has had it too good for too long really and reality has finally set in.
I distinctly recall over several years a constant refrain of loud complaints about P-USA marketing, C.R.I.S. service, telephone support, short warranties on Pentax gear, no presence in retail channel (touchy feely before buy), no lens roadmap, lousy autofocus, flash sync, fps, and the ever-present no FF.

It all costs money.

04-04-2012, 09:14 PM - 2 Likes   #143
Veteran Member
Docrwm's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Somewhere in the Southern US
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 12,285
QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
I distinctly recall over several years a constant refrain of loud complaints about P-USA marketing, C.R.I.S. service, telephone support, short warranties on Pentax gear, no presence in retail channel (touchy feely before buy), no lens roadmap, lousy autofocus, flash sync, fps, and the ever-present no FF.

It all costs money.
Ah, but if they have not raised the wholesale price they are not getting more money and hence have no more for those things. Also, with these staggering price increases I am pretty sure that sales (are there economic theories on this ) will tank thereby lowering income. In neither instance does Pentax have more cash flow to direct into the areas you have identified. It takes capital investment directly to improve the offerings in quality and range before premium prices can be reasonably commanded. Ricoh has started down that path but we have seen no improvement in QC, no genuine response to the SDM fiasco, no improvement in warranty length or quality of support, no improvement in CS from PentaxImaging, etc., etc., etc. So, they have no reasonable expectation that they can command a premium price because, sadly, they are not providing premium goods or services. This is why turning a company around is expensive, it requires capital up front to make the changes necessary to increase profits. That is not what I see happening here.
04-04-2012, 09:29 PM   #144
Forum Member




Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: SoCal
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 64
Horrendous. I nixed my planned purchase of a DA 40 mm Limited when it increased in price by 50% overnight! Boycott Pentax.
04-04-2012, 09:33 PM   #145
Veteran Member
cali92rs's Avatar

Join Date: May 2011
Location: Long Beach, CA
Posts: 3,354
QuoteOriginally posted by vodoc Quote
Horrendous. I nixed my planned purchase of a DA 40 mm Limited when it increased in price by 50% overnight! Boycott Pentax.
I don't think a boycott is necessary...people just will not be able to afford the prices as they are. Consider it a self-imposed boycott.
04-04-2012, 09:47 PM   #146
Veteran Member
TOUGEFC's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Brisbane
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 3,561
QuoteOriginally posted by bossa Quote
i think that the us has had it too good for too long really and reality has finally set in.
__________________
end thread/
04-04-2012, 10:05 PM   #147
Veteran Member
joe.penn's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Maryland (Right Outside Washington DC)
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 2,902
/open thread

So what is reality bossa?
04-04-2012, 10:15 PM   #148
Veteran Member
Frogfish's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 4,490
QuoteOriginally posted by Docrwm Quote
Ah, but if they have not raised the wholesale price they are not getting more money and hence have no more for those things. Also, with these staggering price increases I am pretty sure that sales (are there economic theories on this ) will tank thereby lowering income. In neither instance does Pentax have more cash flow to direct into the areas you have identified. It takes capital investment directly to improve the offerings in quality and range before premium prices can be reasonably commanded. Ricoh has started down that path but we have seen no improvement in QC, no genuine response to the SDM fiasco, no improvement in warranty length or quality of support, no improvement in CS from PentaxImaging, etc., etc., etc. So, they have no reasonable expectation that they can command a premium price because, sadly, they are not providing premium goods or services. This is why turning a company around is expensive, it requires capital up front to make the changes necessary to increase profits. That is not what I see happening here.
Perfect assessment IMHO.
04-04-2012, 10:56 PM   #149
Veteran Member
creampuff's Avatar

Join Date: May 2007
Location: Singapore
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 3,953
C'mon people, with the internet and people travelling around the globe, it is easy enough to buy your Pentax gear outside the USA. Prices are pretty good in China, HK, Singapore and it is easy enough to find decent bargains if you know how. I personally think the US price increases has long been overdue due to the strengthening yen vis-a-vis a weakening US dollar. I guess it's time for a reality check that the US consumer will have to suck up and save more to buy their photo gear. If the Americans don't wanna buy, no big deal. We all know that the consumers with plenty of money to spend right now are the well heeled nouveau rich Chinese.
04-04-2012, 11:15 PM   #150
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
monochrome's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Working From Home
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 26,276
QuoteOriginally posted by Docrwm Quote
Ah, but if they have not raised the wholesale price they are not getting more money and hence have no more for those things. Also, with these staggering price increases I am pretty sure that sales (are there economic theories on this ) will tank thereby lowering income. In neither instance does Pentax have more cash flow to direct into the areas you have identified. It takes capital investment directly to improve the offerings in quality and range before premium prices can be reasonably commanded. Ricoh has started down that path but we have seen no improvement in QC, no genuine response to the SDM fiasco, no improvement in warranty length or quality of support, no improvement in CS from PentaxImaging, etc., etc., etc. So, they have no reasonable expectation that they can command a premium price because, sadly, they are not providing premium goods or services. This is why turning a company around is expensive, it requires capital up front to make the changes necessary to increase profits. That is not what I see happening here.
Good grief - its only been six months and you want the entire kingdom for a song!

In these corporate takeovers the buyer spends the first six months just taking inventory of what they bought. At the six month anniversary (right on time) the buyer makes a "shock" change, esrablsihing "ownership."

Ther follows over the next 18 months a series of strategic investments, changes, etc. that sets the new company direction Look for SDM lenses to be discontinued, replaced by lenses with a new AF motor - and new lenses will get longer warranties. Look for service to come back to Pentax USA - it will take a couple years to establish workshops and train workers. Look for marketing arrangements. Look for CS to come back to P-USA - same thing for time and training. Etc.\

Ricoh will invest significant capital. First they had to kill the gray market. Not all the lenses went up 65% - only the ones that will be retired soon.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
change, da*, k-mount, lens, lens price, pentax, pentax lens, price, slr lens
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Pentax Accessories Price Increase Kenn100D Pentax News and Rumors 10 08-12-2011 09:21 AM
WooWhoo -- Pentax Canada Price Drops :D :D and one price increase Jack Simpson Pentax News and Rumors 45 05-06-2009 10:10 PM
K20D price increase?! filmamigo Pentax DSLR Discussion 29 01-22-2009 10:50 AM
Sigma 10-20 Price Increase glanglois Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 12 05-21-2008 08:36 AM
Price increase on kit lens regken Pentax News and Rumors 6 12-15-2007 07:50 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:07 PM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top